55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully Warm Tales With Real Substance & Wisdom, January 4, 2005
If you find the whole genre of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' type books to be annoyingly sappy and over-the-top then this book is your antidote.
It features real stories from real life whereby the author (a Quaker pastor) draws real substantive wisdom. Where Chicken Soup and the like were "cute" or "charming", Gulley is challenging. There's plenty laugh out loud comedy here too, and enough sweetness to aggravate a toothache, but those elements are the icing instead of the cake.
Gulley talks about raising children to be tough, the capacity people have for mid-life change, prayer, loss, flexibility, the home, the dignity of work, the debilitating effect of television, why we need more listening and less psychology, love between a husband & wife, and many other subjects. Nearly all of these short essays are punctuated with surprisingly relevant scriptural anecdotes from the Good Book.
On the first page, Gulley wrote, "I thank God I was born before Nintendo video games and all the other things that keep kids from getting out and exploring their environs. My parents turned off the television set and sent me outdoors, where I met all kinds of interesting people, like Mrs. Harvey and Doctor Gibbs and Mr. Welty."
And he isn't kidding. This is a superb read that--through the window of the author's life--manages to search out so much of what's wrong with the world, offers beautiful alternatives, and does it all with the charity, humor, modesty, and self-depreciation proper to a Christian.
Highly recommended!
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57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll read it over and over again!, July 13, 1999
By A Customer
I'm 13 and I'll admit I only bought this book because I had a gift certificate to a local Christian bookstore and I couldn't find anything to buy in the young adult section. But after being bored one day I picked it and it's dusty cover off of my bookshelf and started reading it. I'm glad I did. Philip Gulley writes in an easy manner that anyone can understand, even a teenager like me. His stories make you laugh, even though I don't think he tries to be funny. It just comes out natural in his writing. I've read the book twice and got my mom to read it and she liked too. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read mini-stories, because that's what the book is. You can put the book down and not have to worry about remembering characters' names or other details. It's full of stories that will make you laugh and also warm your heart. So why are sitting here reading my review? Buy the book on Amazon today! If I'm 13 and I liked it, I think you'll like it too. Thanks for reading my review. Bye!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book changed the way I live my life., March 9, 1999
By A Customer
For most of my life I have sought the answer to many questions about life, I've complicated my life in trying to find the answers. But here, after the better part of twenty-five years of searching, is the definitive answer.....basic simplicity, fundamental values, caring for each other, respecting each other, gathering strength from friends and family....no frills, no thrills in the new age sort of way....just remembering the past, learning from it and living by it, we've lost so much of it......well here it is...Phillip Gulley has restored my belief in living life to it's fullest, savoring every moment big and small. This book for all its simplistic values is the one book, that every man, women and child should read, to help them cherish the life that God has given us, the opportunities that are presented to us, and the gift of small, sacred treasures.....like home.
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